Living in Color! - Textiles of Chile and at Home with Our Sentimental Souvenir

Living in Color! - Textiles of Chile and at Home with Our Sentimental Souvenir 

It's fall ya'll and I'm back from a blogging hiatus. This past spring, I did a road trip adventure through a region of Chile. Of course I couldn't get enough of the textiles and art. We've started a tradition of collecting fabrics from our travels to make throw pillows for our sofa. It keeps us surrounded in our colorful memories!    

In Chile, we were on the hunt for an authentic Mapuche textile. The Mapuche are one of the most native indigenous inhabitants, and are best known for their wool textiles. Chile is home to some of the finest wool in the world and the Mapuche have long woven this wool into fine ponchos and home furnishings. 

Source: http://vidamapuche.blogspot.com/2010/

I love that this shopping instantly made us dive into the story of these native people and their craft. It gave us an appreciation for these artists and the lands they inhabit. There's a strong chance you and I have seen copies and reproductions of their work pop up in mass market chain stores without even knowing it.  

Source: http://vidamapuche.blogspot.com/2010/

We found a great market in Pucon, Chile selling Mapuche textiles. They are not cheap, but as a maker, I totally understand needing to be compensated for your work. 

So many beautiful things, I wish we could have bought them all!  

Ponchos and high quality wool everywhere! 

Color inspiration overload!

Another fun shopping stop was a cultural center and local artist collective in Licanten.



We were excited to also find an awesome coffee stop next door after being on the road all day. For a girl who enjoys a proper coffee moment, they don't really offer to-go options, hehe. You have to sit and have your coffee! They served ours in a pottery native to Chile, mostly produced in the village of Pomaire; which we later learned eating and drinking throughout our trip. 





We picked out this beautiful green Mapuche textile for our pillow.  

Floor time! I am a total floor person, so I made this pillow big and full to double as a cozy floor cushion. 



 We are loving what this tradition adds to our home. Live in color friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a lovely week!


*Check out this old post about our sentimental souvenirs :)
http://erinelsie.blogspot.com/2014/04/sentiment-and-souvenirs.html

P.S. Shop great new items in my ErinElsie online shop, created with special bits of reclaimed vintage fabrics, recycled denim, and leather remnants. Save 15% off  these totally one of a kind items by using code FALL15 at checkout or the shop link below!  

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A few good things from my October

Happy November!

 I hope everyone is having a good fall. I'm grateful to be back to working in my home studio this week. Here are a few other good things from my October:

 Going home...I went home to Louisiana for a family wedding and it was a good time per usual. The sugar cane behind my parents house was high, all the food was amazing, and the weather was beautiful.

My mom's crab stew...I could go on and on with the laundry list of awesome home cooked food I ate when I was home, but next to my dad's fried fish, my mom's crab stew was my favorite. She waited until I was home to cook this for me, and it did not disappoint - I ate it for three days. Yum! 

Treasure hunting... I love good shopping one on one time with my mom. This trip, I found a few thrift store treasures, some vintage inspiration, and some unique handmade items. 

Fall Festival at the Laurel Valley Village in Thibodaux   

Great vintage inspiration... Check out this awesome vintage Mardi Gras Tableau dress and headpiece at the Laural Valley store and museum. So much detail, and I love he bold color combinations- that's what festival wear is all about. 

 Discovering local emerging artists in Louisiana... At the festival, I also came across a gal, Lauren Rebert, making these most unique bags. As a maker, I love to see others doing interesting and innovative work. Lauren's accessories are called Fiber Chic and she makes them by tediously machine stitching together rope - quite impressive. She doesn't yet have a website, but I will surely keep you posted. My mom got me this one, and I can't wait to sport it. It's the perfect little, lightweight cross-body bag for cruising around New York in the Spring and Summer.  

 Great thrifting fabric finds... One was a very large and dated 2 piece leopard outfit- which for me means lots of yards of the perfect scaled leopard print cotton fabric. I've been wanting some leopard fabric to incorporate into a few upcoming fall floral looks so the timing was great. The second find was this dress with a Gerard Darel Paris label- pretty neat for a thrift store find. The shape was large and pretty matronly, but the fabric is great. It's a super lightweight wool, woven into this most vivid paisley print. I'm already working on transforming these, so stay tuned!

Getting out of town...This past weekend my guy and I escaped to the Catskills for a little nature and one on one time. It was the perfect combination of taking in the sights and enjoying doing absolutely nothing! The leaves were literally falling while we were there, and I'm grateful we got to catch this most beautiful fall time. 

Fireplaces...We stayed in a little cabin and the weather was perfect for enjoying the fireplace with a good glass of wine. I could have stayed so much longer!

Campfires...We enjoyed one night outside cooking our dinner over a campfire. 

Antiquing in upstate NY...I picked up this cute jar of vintage buttons to replenish my stash. I love vintage buttons and almost always use them in my work. 

Alright, back to work for me! Hope all is well and thanks for following along friends! 

All the best,

-Erin

http://www.erinelsie.com 

Follow my ever day along on Instagram:@ ErinBlank_Designer

Tales from the road & What I'm working on now...

Greetings!

A lot has been going on around here; A visit/ road trip with my parents, a road trip for freelance work, and new design projects that I am very excited about are piling up in the workshop. Although I really love NYC,  sometimes the best thing about it is being able to leave it for a couple days! Within a couple of hours by train or car you can reach some truly beautiful nature and historic places. Here are some of the highlights with a little picture journal below. 

Exploring my own Brooklyn
A few days before the Memorial Day weekend, my parents are flew in from Louisiana for a visit. As they have already hit a lot of the more known, traditional tourists spots, they decided to stay in Brooklyn in an apartment a few blocks from me. It was great to spend some low-key, quality time with them and share a little of what my actual life here is like. 

My dear Dad on my block.

One of the unique tourist days we did do right here in Brooklyn was exploring the 175 year old historical gem of Greenwood cemetery. I live about a ten minute drive from it and can't believe I hadn't checked it out yet! I little excerpt from their website below:

Everybody loves a great story, and Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery has many of New York’s great stories to tell. Everyone who was anybody in 19th-century New York wanted to be buried there, and they were. As The New York Times succinctly put it it 1866, “It is the ambition of the New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the [Central] Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood.”

Green-Wood is 478 spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths, throughout which exists one of the largest outdoor collections of 19th- and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums. It's popularity helped inspire the creation of public parks, including New York City’s Central and Prospect Parks.

(courtesy of http://www.green-wood.com/about-history/ )

Mom, trying to capture some foliage.

Dad, tinkering with something and a beautiful old tree. 

"Green-Wood is a Revolutionary War historic site (the Battle of Long Island was fought in 1776 across what is now its grounds), a designated site on the Civil War Discovery Trail."

(courtesy of http://www.green-wood.com/about-history/ )

The Altar To Liberty, with Minerva (Roman Goddess of Battle)  was placed on the highest natural point in Brooklyn, also known as Battle Hill. She is in that spot to commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn, the first battle of the American Revolution after the Declaration of Independence was issued. From this point  you can see views of lower New York Harbor, New Jersey, the tip of Manhattan, and mid-town Manhattan.. With her arm upraised, she is saluting her sister, the Statue of Liberty, in the harbor.   

Mystic, CT

After completing our little tour of Brooklyn, which also included Coney Island and Rockaway, we headed to Mystic, CT for the Memorial Day weekend. Mystic is a quintessential New England cozy, boating town and was the perfect place to get away with my parents. They haven't yet experienced much of the New England area so this was a great intro for them. 

Our cozy and Historic Mystic Rental House for the weekend. The location was superb and our stay here was lovely.  Here's a link for more info: 1839 House

Spotted on one of our strolls, this made me smile!

Treasure hunting for myself or for sewing materials is one of my favorite things to do on a road trip, and Pennywise was a great discovery. For more info click here

I didn't buy anything this time, but it will certainly be on my list of for the future! 

There are many great spots to eat in Mystic, but the standout for this trip was the Captain Daniel Packer Inne, a historic 250 year old pub and restaurant. 

Ahh, Mystic Views...so serene. Other highlights were getting together with my future in-laws for more good times and good food. Hopefully my parents enjoyed their time here, as I sure enjoyed mine. 

Hudson, NY Area

My next adventure was about 2 hours outside of NYC in a different direction to the Hudson, NY area. I went along on this trip to assist my guy on a photo job for the Camphill Foundation. I am grateful that my freelance work can expose me to so many beautiful and diverse locations and people. Camphill Communities are unique and vibrant life-sharing communities of individuals, including adults with developmental disabilities. These communities bring together coworkers (long and short-term service volunteers) and individuals with developmental disabilities in therapeutic communities that foster mutual respect and human dignity.

I could go on and on, but Learn more about Camphill by clicking this link :)

There are Camphill communities all over the world, we just visited a few in the Hudson area. 

A beautiful spot while touring their Copake, NY location.

The disabled residents of Camphill communities make meaningful and useful products that they sell at their gift shops. I was lucky to shop at 2 of their stores and was so impressed by the artistry. Lots of woven items, candles, healing teas and oils, wooden toys, and on and on... 

Their downtown Hudson location

Picked up some items that I'm not going to share as they are Holiday Gifts ;)

I had a little time to check out more downtown shopping. Downtown Hudson has so many great shops, especially vintage ones, but my favorite was Antigo. 

http://www.antigoantigo.com/

My happy, treasure hunting place!

I did manage to pickup a couple of great finds. This great fabric chunk to contribute to my Kimono project...

...and this awesome clutch and statement necklace. I love picking up clutches from vintage/thrift stores. It's a less expensive way to find something unique with tons of character. This leather clutch was in perfect condition and the optional chain makes it perfect for keeping track of your bag on a New York night out. 

My super vintage finds and a lovely sunset were the perfect ending to my second road trip!

What I'm working on now...

Now I'm back to work in the studio, working on a collection of one-of-a kind, soft Kimono Jackets. I have been scouring everywhere for unique fabric in beautiful colors and prints and my pile is growing. This is the hardest and most fun part! 

A little sneak preview below and stay tuned for more updates on this collection!

Hope you are all having a great week and as always, many thanks for following along on this creative journey! 

Be Well!
xo
 Erin 
http://www.erinelsie.com 
Follow me on Instagram: ErinBlank_Designer